Homeless Shelter Task Force Begins Meeting

The group’s goal is to make a recommendation to the commission about where homeless shelters can be established. Specifically, the group will look at Wayside Christian Mission’s attempts to open a shelter in the former Hotel Louisville building downtown.

The group is made up of representatives from housing, development, government and nonprofits, but during the meeting, members discussed adding more representation from other constituencies. Wayside Director Nina Moseley is not on the task force, but she would like to see more diversity in the group.

“I’m quite surprised that minorities are not represented on this panel very much.” she says. “The homeless population at a minimum is 55 to 65% people of color and this panel is very lopsided.”

The group will meet every few weeks until it sends a recommendation to Metro Planning.

“They’ll meet several times. We anticipate maybe six or so times, so we’re looking at several months,” says Metro Planning and Design spokesperson Connie Ewing. “After they make a recommendation, that recommendation will go to the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing and then ultimately make a recommendation to Metro Council.”

In the meantime, Wayside is running the Hotel Louisville building as a hotel, with rooms available for shelter residents.